Man Arrested For Duping People Of Rs 3 Crore By Using Pictures Of PM Modi

January 10, 2019

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The accused was identified as Rajinder Kumar Tripathi, 57, a resident of Faridabad. (Representational)

New Delhi:

A man was arrested for allegedly using pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a government department to promote his organisation and duping over 2,000 people of more than Rs 3 crore on the pretext of providing cheap houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the police said today.

The accused has been identified as Rajinder Kumar Tripathi, 57, a resident of Faridabad, they said.

Mr Tripathi also duped four advertising companies of Rs 1 crore on the pretext of inviting tenders for organising Rashtriya Awas Divas for promotion of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

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According to officials, they received a complaint from the Ministry Of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation where they alleged that the chairman of the National Housing Development Organisation (NHDO) was unauthorisedly publishing official photographs of the government departments on its website to promote his organisation with malafide intention.

The accused used a picture of the prime minister and the logo of the Ministry Of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation to promote his organisation. He duped people on the pretension that NHDO was a government organisation under the ministry, the police said.

The ministry had received a complaint along with a forged letter dated February 9, 2017, allegedly written by chairman of NHDO, in which NHDO was projected as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) AK Singla said.

Another complaint was received from Goldmine Advertising Ltd regarding siphoning off the money taken by the chairman of NHDO on the pretext of inviting tenders for organising Rashtriya Awas Divas.

Three other companies also came forward with similar allegations and filed their complaints, the official added.

Two bank accounts being maintained at Nehru Place branch of the Punjab National Bank have been freezed.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Mr Tripathi moved from Gorakhpur to New Delhi in 1989 and started an NGO called LIC Policy Holders Welfare Organisation for working welfare/grievances removal of LIC policy holders, Mr Singla said.

He projected a micro credit scheme for the NGOs all over the country in 2004 and under this scheme, he had duped NGOs for providing loans for the women of rural areas.